Internationally acclaimed as a mesmerizing live performer, Cary Morin’s soul-stirring voice and jaw-dropping fingerstyle guitar playing have captivated audiences for decades. Morin’s career catalog fuses the best of American roots music: blues, folk, soul, bluegrass, and the timeless and distinctive sounds of the rural countryside, from the Western Plains and Rocky Mountains to the rhythmic melting pot of the deep South. His music has reached millions through prestigious performances at venues like the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center as well as national television and radio programs. He has shared stages with Taj Mahal, Los Lobos, and Bonnie Raitt, among countless others, while earning multiple awards including two Indigenous Music Awards for Best Blues CD. When not performing across the US and Europe, Morin finds inspiration in Northern Colorado, which he proudly calls home. (IV-PR, 2023)

With Innocent Allies—due for release on January 26, 2024—Morin observes details in Charles M. Russell’s painting from his perspective as a Native Crow and sets them to song. “Situations depicted in his paintings that might not be obvious to some are subtle cultural or ritualistic details,” says Morin, pointing out Russell’s Indian Hunters Return, in which an elder is being served their meal first; a customary gesture in Crow culture. “As an Indigenous artist, I bring a perspective to this aspect of Charlie’s work by way of this body of songs.” Morin is also quick to note that Charles M. Russell was a friend to the Plains Tribes, concerned with the destruction of Native culture and portraying Native Americans in his paintings with a dignity that was largely absent from other artists’ portrayals of the time. “This record is a masterpiece worthy of its place among the great works of art it was created to honor,” says Trina Shoemaker, the Grammy-winning producer who mixed and mastered the album at her Alabama studio.

Morin shared the first single from Innocent Allies: the impetus for the album itself, “Big Sky Sun Goes Down.” Fans can watch the music video for “Big Sky Sun Goes Down”—produced by Randy Perkins & Film Locale—and stream or purchase the single.

Innocent Allies track list:
Big Sky Sun Goes Down
Waiting and Mad
Waiting for a Chinook
Old Timer’s Poem
Good Medicine
Killing the Blues
Indian Hunters Return
Whiskey Before Breakfast
Big Nose George’s Outlaw Blues
Fire Boat
Bullhead Lodge
Wally and Keeoma
Where the Trails Cross the Big Divide
Montana Sky